V.  Laree “Tootie” Baker, 88, a resident of Mount Vernon, passed away on Friday, June 11, 2010 at Skagit Valley Hospital surrounded by her family.

She was born on February 23, 1922 in Chambers, Nebraska, the tenth of eleven children of Omer & Frances (Elliott) Huston.

She was raised in Nebraska until 1934 when the family moved to Hamilton, WA where she was raised and attended school, graduating from Hamilton High School at the age of 16 with the class of 1938.

On August 13, 1940 she was united in marriage to Newton Baker in Sedro-Woolley and they made their home in Seattle while Newt attended Northwest Bible College.

In 1951 they settled in Glacier for several years until moving to Shuksan in Whatcom County where Newt pastored and worked the highway department and Laree worked as a cook for the road crews.  In 1964 she & Newt moved to Port Angeles where they lived for 15 years and Laree worked as a real estate broker.  After Newt’s retirement from the state highway department they moved to Day Creek where they lived until 1989 when they moved to Sedro-Woolley, and then in 2003 moved to Mount Vernon.

Laree has been a member of the Assembly of God Church since 1940 and was a longtime member of the Central Valley Assembly of God Church.   She has been active in all of the churches she has attended, serving as a Sunday school teacher and was busy with social events.

Besides church activities she enjoyed gardening and packing on horseback in the mountains.

The desire of Laree’s heart and her constant prayer was that all her family & friends would come to know Jesus as their personal Savior and close friend as she did.

Laree was preceded in death by her parents, Omer & Frances Huston; her son, Robert in 2005; her husband Newt in 2008 and nine brothers & sisters.

She is survived by her son, Glenn Baker and his wife, Cyndy of Port Townsend,  WA.  Her sister, Frances Hayes of Mount Vernon; 10 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and many many nieces and nephews.

Memorials are suggested to the Burlington Central Valley Assembly of God Church building fund.

Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 1:00 P.M. at the Central Valley Assembly of God Church in Burlington with Pastors Ed Leckenby and David Holt officiating,  Interment will be at the Sedro-Woolley Union Cemetery.